Queensland has announced new rental rules in a bid to better protect tenants, but there is a sneaky way landlords and real estate agent can dodge the new laws.
Under an announcement made by the Palaszczuk government on Tuesday, rent increases will be limited to once a year, up from six months, to give renters a “fairer go”.
The move would bring Queensland into line with most other states and territories, but there is still a loophole that could see landlords bypass the change completely.
The Queensland government is still nailing down key details of the proposed changes, which means it is possible the rules could be limited to the agreement between a landlord and tenant.
If this is the case, then the landlord could, for example, offer a tenant a six month lease and increase the rent at the end of that term before taking on a new tenant for another six months.
When announcing the change yesterday, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said there were more than a million renters across the state and “every single one of them must be given a fair go”.
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said the changes were about giving renters a ‘fairer go’. Picture: Glenn Campbell/NCA NewsWire
“A fair go to pay rent they can afford and not be penalised for the cost of living situation all Australians find themselves in today,” she said.
“Our government will act immediately to place a limit on the number of rent increases that can be imposed on tenants each year.
“We will limit annual rent increases to just one.”
Ms Palaszczuk said, while most landlords “do the right thing” and look after their tenants, this would be a “wake up call” for those that do not.
“We must act and will act to deliver reforms that balance the rights and interests of Queenslanders who rent and property owners to sustain healthy rental supply,” she said.
However, there are calls for more to be done to protect renters amid soaring costs, with the Sunshine State leading the country in terms of increasing rental costs.
Under the changes, landlords could use a loophole to raise the rent more frequently than the 12 month period.
Housing advocacy group Q Shelter executive director Fiona Caniglia said her organisation was pleased that the frequency of rent increases had been reduced, but feared what would happen with no limits on how much rents could go up.
“While the increasing costs of mortgages are impacting property investors, tenants are being pushed to the brink of homelessness by the scale of rent increases that can occur,” she said.
“Property investors have enjoyed capital gains while tenants can’t make their incomes stretch to cope with rent price increases that go far beyond inflation in many instances.
“Excessive rent increases cause homelessness and push people into seeking help from a system that is already under pressure from increased demand.”
Brisbane house rents have risen by 11.6 per cent in the past year to sit at a median $530 per week, while units rose 10 per cent to $440 per week, outranking every other capital city according to PropTrack.
It’s a similar story outside of Brisbane, with rents in regional areas rising by 10.6 per cent to reach $520 per week.
Ms Caniglia urged the Queensland government to consider putting a cap on increases to protect renters from property owners and agents taking advantage of low vacancy rates.
“Many people do the right thing, we are not calling for rent freezes,” she said.
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“We simply think that rent increases matched to inflation are fairer given that a rising number of people are completely reliant on private rentals for a place to call home.”
– With NCA NewsWire
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